Americans have a lot on their plates.

First of all, we’re at war. Then there’s North Korea, Iran, Honduras, Cuba, Venezuela, Pakistan/India, Russia, China and Mexico. There is cap and trade and national health care. Not to mention the economy and our nation’s trillions of dollars of debt.

So of course is U.S. Senate has its attention on college football this week. Congress letting its feelings be known about the Bowl Championship Series is nothing new, but the senator who has the leading role right now is a new voice in the process.

Utah Republican Orrin Hatch, who just happens to represent the state that includes the University of Utah, which went undefeated last football season but had to settle for the Sugar Bowl instead of the national championship game, is heading up the Senate Judicial Committee’s hearing on the BCS.

The official name of the hearing, I promise, is, “BCS or Bust: Competitive and Economic Effects of the Bowl Championship Series On and Off the Field.”

This is the same Judicial Committee that has a Supreme Court nomination on its docket. This is the same Congress that has made a habit lately of passing legislation without reading it first.

So if Utah goes 2-10 this season, is Hatch going to drop the matter, allowing Republican Mike Crapo from Idaho to take up the slack, since Boise State’s due for another really good season?

This isn’t even about whether the BCS is a good idea or not. I think it’s generally not, although it is a better system than used to be in place for college football.

As though Congress playing with the BCS — which is kind of important and certainly a big financial issue, just not compared to the world right now — isn’t enough, President Obama also has weighed in. To be honest, the state of college football looks a great deal more organized and efficient than the state of the union does, no matter how No. 1 is figured out.

Then there’s the ongoing matter of baseball and steroids, which our representatives care way more about than an average baseball fan seems to. There’s also Obama playing spokesperson for Chicago and its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

In reality, it’s probably best if Sen. Hatch succeeds in whatever he’s trying to accomplish. In fact, for the good of the nation, perhaps all the university presidents and conference administrators can sacrifice and give our Senate what it wants. At least then, the Senate could get beyond this pressing issue.